


Love and Light Sabers

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Luke Skywalker just evaporated Dark Vader.” Jack replied.  “I lost my hand.” He held up his shirt sleeve.  “Not for real, but for play.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Light Sabers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/)**kosmickway** ’s prompt of **‘Hotch’s thoughts while Jack and Emily play a kid-like game’**.

“Luke, I am your father.” Emily said, giving her best impression of James Earl Jones. She swung her light saber and hit Jack’s wrist.

“Noooo!” he wailed, slipping his hand down in his shirt as if it was cut off. “Never!”

He hit his light saber against hers and the fight really began. They ran all around the living room, battling each other in the neverending saga of good versus evil. Rolling, jumping, ducking, and fencing…the game was afoot.

Hotch used his key to unlock his front door, dropping his suitcase and suit bag in front of the closet. He closed and locked up before turning around and seeing the ensuing battle. Jack was jumping around all over the place, swinging his favorite purple light saber. Emily was right on his toes with a red one just like Darth Vader would’ve owned. He didn’t remember Jack having two light sabers…did she own one herself? The Unit Chief found that wouldn’t have surprised him at all. Emily was both a geek and a kid at heart.

“Take that, Skywalker.” She swung at him and missed.

“I’ll never come to the dark side.” Jack suppressed his giggles. “Not even for cookies.”

“Obi-Wan has taught you well, young one, but you cannot defeat the power of the dark side. Join me, and together we can rule the whole universe.”

“Never!”

He poked Emily lightly in the chest and she doubled over. Hotch watched for changes in Jack’s face, to see if he was sure it was just a game, but he seemed to know the difference. He wore a victorious grin.

“Oh no, Skywalker…you got me.” She fell to her knees, dropping the light saber. “You got me, I’m finished. Now I’ll never run the universe.” She fell over on the floor, did a couple of fake convulsions, and then stopped moving.

“Vader?” Jack poked her with his light saber. “Vader?” he poked again.

“Gotcha.” Emily reached up and grabbed him, wrapping her arms around him and tickling him. “I gotcha, I gotcha.”

Jack laughed wildly, flailing his arms and legs everywhere but Emily seemed to have a good grip on him. It felt so good to hear his little boy laugh like that. He was just open, free, and having a wonderful time. Hotch didn’t think he’d ever played Star Wars with Jack though he’d probably had the light saber since he was three. Did he and Agent Emily, as his son called her, already have games that were only for them?

Emily had been babysitting for a couple of months now. It was to give Hotch and Jessie a break whenever she could. She told Hotch she wanted to do it, and Jack seemed receptive to spending more time with her. As he watched them roll around on the floor, both laughing, he knew it was a good idea. Well, he probably knew before that but he definitely knew now.

“Hey guys, Dad’s home.” It wasn’t until he’d already said it that Hotch took a moment to think of the connotation.

“Daddy!” Jack squealed.

Emily released him from bondage and he ran straight into his father’s arms. Hotch hugged him tight, picked him up from the floor, and hugged him again. Emily sat up on the floor and smiled.

“Hey there, Hotch. Welcome home.”

“What was I interrupting?” he asked, unable to stop his dimples from poking holes in his cheeks.

“Luke Skywalker just evaporated Dark Vader.” Jack replied. “I lost my hand.” He held up his shirt sleeve. “Not for real, but for play.”

“We were just having a little playtime before bed.” Emily got up from the floor. “We weren't expecting you until tomorrow.”

Hotch was in Fort Worth doing a symposium on hostage negotiation. He was one of the FBI’s top guys on the subject and his participation was requested. He wasn’t in the mood for it but his Section Chief wasn’t really asking. So he packed a bag and left his son for three days. Jessie was also out of town, visiting Sam’s mother in Denver, so Emily jumped in to help.

She said she could do both, the BAU and babysitting. Hotch did it and so could she. Someone had to look after Jack, why not her. In the end was grateful for the help. It was still so hard to give in…admit he couldn’t do it all. With Emily it wasn’t about pity. She adored Jack and wanted to spend time with him.

“You gonna tuck me in tonight, Daddy?” Jack asked.

“I sure am, buddy.” Hotch hugged him tight. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too but me and Agent Emily had lots of fun. She helped me read and we watched TV and she and Natty took me to the zoo on Saturday. We saw all these cool animals. I even got to pet the baby ones.”

“Natty?” Hotch looked at her.

“That’s his new name for Natalie…her grandkids call her that.”

“Oh.”

“Well, Captain Jack, you better go and get ready for bed.” Emily said. “Your pajamas are all laid out for you.”

“OK.”

Hotch couldn’t believe it. Jack usually tried to convince his father for at least ten minutes that he should stay up a little later. It was always about negotiation with Hotch and Jack. It looked like Agent Emily had it down to a science. That must have been a girl thing. He put Jack down and he went over to Emily for his hug and kiss. He clung just a little longer than normal.

“You'll be here in the morning for waffles, right Agent Emily.”

“No bud, I gotta go back to my house. George probably misses me by now. Dad’s home now and he’s gonna do all the hard work. But I’ll be back to see you as soon as I can.”

“Maybe next time Dark Vader will defeat Luke Skywalker.”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “The bad guys never win. They may be on top for a little while but the good guys always get them.”

She gave him one more kiss on the cheek before he ran off to his room. For a moment, Emily and Hotch just looked at each other. She stepped a little closer, he closed the space between them and took her into his arms.

“Welcome home.” She said again.

“Hello.”

Hotch took a deep inhale, smelling the faint remnants of Sheer Veil on her skin. He took another as his arms circled tighter around her.

“I thought about you the whole time I was gone.” He whispered. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to say that.”

“There was nothing to worry about…Jack and I were fine.” She replied. “You called every night.”

“That wasn’t why I was thinking about you Emily.”

“Oh. Well…oh. I guess I'm a very lucky girl, Agent Hotchner.”

He grinned, giving her a light kiss. It wasn’t enough for either of them but it didn’t turn too passionate. Jack was the other room and this was all so new. Both Hotch and Prentiss were treading lightly though their feelings almost boiled over on a regular basis. He caressed her face in his hands as his eyes explored hers.

“Hello.” Hotch repeated.

“You said that already.”

“Did I?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Em…”

“You need to check on Jack. I'm sure he’s waiting with his favorite book of the week, which is _Little Critter’s First Day of School_ , by the way. Nat brought him a bunch of Little Critter books from the attic at her house. She thought it was silly to keep them up there…they needed to be loved by a kid.”

“That was very sweet of her. He seems to like Natty very much.”

“Like father, like son.” Emily replied smiling.

“Don’t go anywhere. I'm gonna read Jack his story, tuck him in, and I’ll be back.”

“Should I put on some tea?”

“That sounds perfect.” Hotch’s smile matched hers.

“OK.”

Emily watched him go into Jack’s bedroom. She was glad he was home; knew the separation was hard on him and Jack. Still, it was going to be hard to leave tonight. She found she was probably more attached to the five year old than she should've been. How was she going to explain to Hotch that she was just in love with him?

Emily was teaching him Smiths and Neil Diamond songs. They would have these deep conversations about things…Jack liked to express the things on his mind. When he opened up and talked about his mother it was awkward at first but she fell into talking about that just as easily as she did everything else with him.

Emily put the teakettle on. She grabbed the teacups from the cabinet along with a variety pack of Hotch’s favorite teas. This was usually the part of the evening where Emily had her clove and shook off the day. Hotch wouldn’t mind if she did it in his presence. He knew she had her relaxation techniques.

“You didn’t make my bed.”

“Oh my God,” She grabbed her chest and turned around. “You scared me witless.”

“I'm so sorry.” He put his hand on Emily’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to.”

“What did you say?”

“You didn’t make my bed.” Hotch repeated.

“Yeah I know; old habits die hard. I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow so I would do it then and pretend I’d been doing it the whole time.”

“Sneaky.”

He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her and kiss her again. Hotch was shocked by how many times that went through his mind while he was away. Kissing her, feeling her close, inhaling her scent, and hearing her sigh…he had Emily Prentiss on the brain in the worse way. Whenever he tried to stop thinking about it, he failed. Knowing she was at his home taking care of his son only made him more anxious.

It was a very domestic picture but he wasn’t sure if Emily really wanted an instant family. And Jack was still dealing with residual issues from losing his mother. What kid wouldn’t be? Was she really ready to handle that? Was she ready to handle lovers at home and complete professionals in the field?

So much of their relationship, if it ever happened, would be more about discussing what they couldn’t or shouldn’t do compared to what they were actually doing. Emily deserved a 100% intense, passionate, non-damaged, whirlwind type romance. He couldn’t give that to her but it didn't make his feelings any less strong and deep. Hotch constantly wondered what she was thinking and feeling about everything.

The kettle whistled, allowing Emily to slip out of his embrace and tend to the tea. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her heart rate. When she was in Hotch’s arms it was like being a giddy young woman again. When he kissed her, all bets were off. Only one man ever made Emily feel that way. She was too afraid to say she was falling in love or in love already. That would open up so much potential to be hurt…she’d been hurt enough to last a lifetime.

“Do you want the blackberry?” she asked.

“Surprise me.”

Hotch sat down at the table. In a few minutes, Emily was joining him. He told her it was fine to go through her nightly rituals as if he wasn’t there.

“Are you sure? I usually strip down to my underwear and dance to Barry Manilow songs.”

“Oh, then by all means, have it at.”

She grinned, turning to get her box of cloves and the ashtray from the kitchen drawer.

“I never smoked around Jack, Hotch.” Emily said.

“I know you wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t something I was concerned about. From my nightly phone calls to what I came in on tonight I can tell you two had a good time together.”

“We really did.” She couldn’t help but smile. “It wasn’t all fun and games though. He did have a nightmare one night and slept in the big bed with me. I even got him to open up to what it was about. He talked a little with me about missing his mom.

“He asked me some questions about Natalie, wanted to know how I know the difference between mommy and step-mommy. He's so smart, Hotch. He’s receptive, inquisitive, and not afraid to ask the tougher questions sometimes. You have an amazing son but I'm sure I'm not telling you anything.”

“He is pretty awesome. The nightmares are a lot less now than they used to be. Jessie and I have discussed him talking with a professional but we never want Jack to feel as if something must be deficient in him because of what happened to Haley.”

“I get that.” Emily lit her clove and deeply inhaled. “Just keep the door open for him. Let him talk, play it out; you guys have created a healthy environment for him. But don’t completely dismiss therapy further down the line.”

“I wouldn’t.” Hotch shook his head.

“Not that I would ever tell you how to raise your son. I just…”

“I know, Em. I know you care about him a lot.”

“I love him, Hotch. He’s amazing and has totally stolen my heart.”

“Do you like him more than me?” Hotch asked grinning.

“Ooh, that’s a toughie. You shouldn’t ask me such tough questions. I think I might adore you both equally.”

“You know that I care about you.”

“I know.” She nodded.

“And I want to talk about it but um…” his voice drifted off. Hotch cleared his throat. “I can never seem to be the right time.”

“What about right now?”

He reached for her hand but shook his head. He was tired. There had been days worth of talks and then a long, cramped plane ride home. Coach on a commercial airline had nothing on a BAU jet. He could’ve used his position to take the jet but Hotch thought that was ridiculous. Some of his brethren didn’t feel the same.

“Jack asked something earlier. He asked would you be here for waffles in the morning.”

“Yeah, and I told him I was going home tonight.” Emily replied.

“Why don’t you stay?”

“Aaron…”

“I'm not asking in the “insert porn music’ here capacity. I just thought…”

“Insert porn music here?” She raised an eyebrow, laughed, and sipped her tea.

“I'm not trying to get fresh. I just want to spend time with you. Its Friday night, I came home a day early; we can stay up as late as we want. I can even sleep on the couch.”

“Hotch, I don’t think George would want to sleep on that couch.”

“It’s not that bad.” He put on a wounded face.

“I napped on it the other night. My shoulder is still cranky.”

“I can fix that. Tell me where it hurts and I can fix it.”

Emily didn’t know what to say. It hurt in a lot of places; sometimes life was one big dog pile and Emily Prentiss could be on the bottom fighting for room to breathe. She honestly didn’t want to talk this to death; she wanted to experience it. Unfortunately, she didn’t think that was possible with the positions they were in. She could argue in its favor but wasn’t sure she would win.

It wasn’t going to be easy to date Hotch. Falling in love with him was a snap. Giving herself to him would be no problem. Dating him would probably be like pulling teeth. She wasn’t as fast as she used to be…Emily wanted to savor every moment of this. But sometimes life required that you just jump in with both feet and see where you landed. She was sure that together they could rule the universe.

***

  



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